Avengers Academy #11

I'm afraid I'm a bit torn on the newest issue of Avengers Academy. This is still one of the best comics I read every month, but I can't get over my disappointment from this issue.

See, I'm a Wasp fan, both because I like that she's a founding Avenger AND she's one of my daughters' favorite heroes, so I was psyched to see her return this month. I was a bit surprised it would happen this soon after Secret Invasion, but I figured Christos Gage might have the freedom in this title to make it happen. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't the Wasp we've been checking on for the past few months on that monitor, it is Korvac's wife from a storyline from the 1970's.

And that's why I'm conflicted. I LOVED the original Korvac storyline. And Gage is playing on all the right beats here. While the focus stays on the new recruits, the entire Avengers pantheon gets in on the action of facing down Korvac (much like how the huge team and the Guardians of the Galaxy took on Korvac in the past). I really like that the last three Avengers standing were Thor, Ms. Marvel, and Speedball. That's a great ego boost for Speedball, and it makes sense for the character too. Thor came off as powerful, confident, and there for his friends; this was a great look at seeing why the guy loves the Avengers. I think Gage needs more chances to write Thor.

I also like the idea of the heroes inhabiting their future selves. It's a fun idea since it is entirely possible that some of them are possessing future "villainous" versions of themselves, but I'm not sure they'd ever know.

Tom Raney does solid work, but he's no Mike McKone. He does a nice job, especially with Veil and Thor (and how cool does the future Veil look?) but it is going to take some time for these characters to look "right" with other artists.

Good